Death toll from controversial campaign reaches 174 as the US military increases kinetic operations in the eastern Pacific
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenAgence France-PressePublished: 10:13am, 15 Apr 2026The US military said on Tuesday that four people had been killed in a strike on another alleged drug-trafficking boat, the fourth such deadly attack in as many days.
US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said in a post on X that the strike – just as the previous three – occurred in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It posted aerial video on social media showing a vessel bobbing in the water before being struck by a projectile and exploding.
The four new fatalities raise the total death toll of the controversial military campaign to at least 174, according to a tally compiled by Agence France-Presse.
Two people were killed in a strike on Monday, while SOUTHCOM said two strikes on Saturday had killed five people and left one survivor. The US Coast Guard has suspended the search for the survivor from Saturday’s attack.
US President Donald Trump’s administration insists it is effectively at war with what it calls “narco-terrorists” operating in Latin America.
